ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Benchmarking Tool

Natural Resources Canada and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency signed a Co-operative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), in the fall of 2011, to adapt the U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool for Canada. The adaption involved the integration of Canadian site and source energy, Canadian greenhouse gas emission factors, enhanced Canadian weather data, metric units, French language, postal codes, as well as web services and Canadian 1-100 ENERGY STAR scores for K-12 schools, commercial office space, hospitals and supermarkets and others to follow.

Canadian adaptation of the tool was launched in 2013.

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is an interactive energy management tool that allows users to track and assess the energy and water consumption of buildings. As an energy management tool, the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager helps commercial businesses, organizations and institutions by offering a common platform to:

• Assess whole building energy and water consumption

• Track changes in energy, water, greenhouse gas emissions over time

• Track green power purchase

• Share/report data with others

• Create custom reports

As a metrics calculator, the tool provides key performance metrics to integrate into a strategic management plan such as:

• Energy consumption (source, site, weather normalized)

• Water consumption (indoor, outdoor)

• Greenhouse gas emissions (indirect, direct, total, avoided)

• ENERGY STAR 1-to-100 score (available for some building types)

The tool allows users to measure the building’s energy performance against national averages for over 86 building types. In addition to comparing to national medians, the tool features the ENERGY STAR 1-to-100 score for offices, kindergarden to 12th grade schools, hospitals, and food retail buildings - other buildings are being added overtime. The 1-100 ENERGY STAR score allows buildings to rate their energy performance against other similar buildings. The objective of the ENERGY STAR score is to provide a fair assessment of the energy performance of a property, relative to its peers, taking into account the climate, weather, and business activities at the property.